Classic Ludwig 5x14 Metal Snare Shootout: Supraphonic vs. Acrolite vs. Black Beauty
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ย. 2020
- The classic trio of Ludwig 5x14 metal snare drums! Featuring the LM404 Acrolite, LM400 Supraphonic, and LB416 Black Beauty, these drums bring the classic tones in full force!
The kit in this video is a late 60s Rogers Holiday kit with new bearing edges and Yamaha die-cast hoops: 20x14 (smooth white P3 batter, Remo FA front), 12x8, and 16x16 (coated over clear Ambassadors). Also featuring an 8x14 Ludwig Copperphonic (coated Vintage Emperor over Weathermaster snare) tuned about as low as possible.
Cymbals are a pair of 16" crashes as hihats: Sabian HH Thin over Paiste Signature Mellow, 20" Sabian HHX Complex Crash, 22" Sabian Artisan Medium Ride, and 22" Istanbul Agop Signature Ride.
Played with Vic Firth 5A sticks.
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BY FAR the best comparison video of these drums! Wow, credit to the tuner of the drums, audio engineer, videographer, and producer. Gold standard.
Hi, my name is Ryan and I wear all the hats in regards to this here TH-cam channel!
Credit to the lighting crew, make up artist, wardrobe manager, editor, location scouts, legal department and fire department too.
@@ramencurry6672 demerits for the hair stylist though
The ludwig supraphonic sounds great.
I bought my Mapex Meridian from 2112 many years ago and I still play it to this day. Love those guys!
I have always wanted a Black Beauty...but this video made me realise that it really is the suprophonic LM400 that i dig...
Resently got my hands on the lm400, and straight out of the box, original heads, tuned the snare head up alot and hit it, sounded amazing.
I have only had one snare since '87, the 400.
I hear that crack! and it's like my best friend's laugh.
No way- I’m wearing a 2112 percussion shirt right now that I found at a thrift store. I’d never heard of you guys before and I just realized I’m randomly watching you now (I was just browsing snare comparisons)
You can't lose with any of these. I agree with your comments on the 400. Tha Acro was ALMOST the same as the 400 at times, just a touch more open. The BB was the most different sound noticeably between the 3--it was just a shorter, more dense sound at every tuning.
Again, you just can't lose with any of them!
Gold Star comparison. Thank you! There is a reason that the LM 400 is the industry standard. It's just that damn good!
I've have the LM 400, love it since 1968! I added the Gretch 42 CT. Snare on mine...awesome
Nice video. Nice editing. One of the best snare comparison vids out there.
absolutely awesome comparison, thanks so much for it. great beat, super consistency, perfect aligned tuning, awesome sound engineering. awesome
all sound great! love the med acro with the dampening ❤
Every single one of them is absolutely killer. Great drums.
Great video! I like that you communicate your impressions instead of only playing the drums! Keep them coming
Thanks for a well done and enjoyable comparison.
Excellent demo. The consistency and editing directly from drum to drum on the same groove was very helpful. Great drumming, tuning and recording too!
Great Video I’m glad I got all of these in my studio. Can’t go wrong with LUDWIG
this, right here-- THIS is how you make a comparison video. flawless.
excellent, excellent work, brother.
Best comparison video I have ever seen. My fave is the black beauty. Keep up the great content!
Wow! This has been the best comparison video I’ve ever seen. The way you edited this is exactly how you should do this so that our ears can properly judge. Others have had segways that interrupted this process. This video is great. I could only tell differences at the high tuning. Which I found incredible. Great job.
Best snare comparison video ever!
What an amazing video, approach, fantastic Groove and syncopated playing, true and honest representation of each drum and done with such finesse. Seriously man, this is an incredible job that you have done. Bravo
this comparison is sooo good, we get to hear those extremely minute differences so clearly. This is the best drum comparison ive ever heard! Nothing different except the actual drum, I wish all comparisons were this good!
Great video comparison thank you.
I close my eyes and open them each time the sound changed and your descriptions are perfect to what my ears were telling me. Great playing too, very enjoyable.
Thanks Mick!
Excellent vid Thank you. I’ve 5” hammered BB & old 5” Acro. Love them both. It’s taken me a few years & owning & using about 1/2 dozen other snares to fully appreciate my BB. Not so the acro, which I fell in love with instantly.
One of the best if not THE best comparison video between these snares. Straight to the point with more focus on the sound of each rather than too much talking. Love that you did all three tunings and then the use of the wallet for all 3 tunings. Thanks for the video!
Very well done!! Love it.
I recently got around to acquiring a B&O 400. I've only wanted one for 40 years.
Hugely informative video. Impressive stuff.
great video, liked the variations of tuning and dampening
this shows just how close they sound to each other...good video thx!!! i just ordered an lm 400 a cpl days ago...im so anxious..like a 54yr old kid at xmas lol!!! love the sort of middle ground of the lm400...less ring than the bb but a lil bit more than the acro...still wish i could own em all....but could only afford 1.
Don’t give up, I bought an acro locally for $75 last year. They’re out there! The 8 lug acro keeps in tune much better for me than any ten lug drum, but I’m a hacker.
The LM400 and the Black Beauty sound perfect in every tuning range. Amazing comparison
Excellent shootout video thanks
Love the LM 400. Sounds the best in all the tunings. It had a good ring that didn't get irritating.
400 and the black beauty sounds identical in the low tune...loved my supraphonic
Nice work. Very informative. Great grooves as well.
Este video es EXCELENTE! Muchas gracias por esto ♡
I have all 3 snares and I smile when I start playing them. no matter which one. All my Ludwigs are from the 60s and 70s. Great comparison video, thanks.
Thank you for watching!
Excellent video, one of the best for clear comparison. I was suprised by the great low tuning sound of the Acrolite, the Supra was the most balanced but at a high tuning the Black Beauty is filthy. Excellent work.
All around great video! 😊
Great review.... I’m in the process of choosing between the Supraphonic and the Black Beauty.... so thanks!
Great job! Thanks!
I've got 2 Supraphonics, a 6.5 from 1974 and a 5 from 1981. They are my only metal snares that I've kept, and I've tried many. I also have a 6.5 WFL 5 ply maple snare that I completely restored in the 90's. I almost always find myself going to one of these 3. They are all in mint condition.
What a well made video! And also superbly played throughout! Really one of the very best comparison videos I've ever watched. Many thanks.
agree 100%
Absolutely
Thanks for the video, pretty cool. I have a Supra and a mid 60s wood Powertone and they cover just about everything......
Black beauty sounds more beefy and more low end
They're all great, I love the Supraphonic overall, but the black beauty was the best when it came to to high tune. Awesome comparison, best I've come across
Great video man
Great video and playing!! I’ve owned all three and have recorded with all three. They are very similar and yet different. They each have there once. However if I had to just pick one of your sweet, given my experience in combination of live playing in different genres and recording, I would have to say that the Suparaphonic really has the nicest and most naturally palatable sound in the studio and it is the most balanced. and that’s what you want as a player. Balance means dynamics and the most tonal options. But they all have their place
They're all amazing...Crack, tone, mojo... It's virtually impossible to get one of these sound bad ..
Well done Drum Brother, I enjoyed them all...... new subscriber!
Aaah. I’m checking in just to listen to the supraphonic. My favourite. But the black beauty is phenomenal.
They're all great, I have all three, using a blackrolite with damping rings for the smaller gigs, and the black beauty for the bigger. Being the same shell there's not a lot if difference between the supra and the acro. Thanks for posting such an interesting video !
LM 400 …. And I ordered one today!!!!! Yes
The Supraphonic is my go to drum for virtually any playing situation. Tight and controlled with that classic aluminum dryness. With a coated single ply head, the LM 400 can do it all. When I want that same sound characteristic, with a bit more openness and breath, I switch to my Acrolite with the exact same head/snare set up.
Great video thank you
Best comparison video I’ve seen. They all sound great to me. I don’t think the 400 is worth the price difference compared to the Acrolite. The Black Beauty to me sounds just incredible. I’ve owned all three (Black Beauty a long time ago). I think I need to get looking for one again!
Great video.
The supra is my favorite but all these drums are a home run, there was not a bad sound at any tuning. Would gladly use any of them for gig! Thanks 2112
3 wonderful snares, great review. Mid for me LM400, mid and high the Black, but man the across, best bang for the buck and this special edition is stunning.
I have all three of those snares, and recently I'd listed the acro and supra to be sold.... what a fool I am! They are all incredible in there own way - I'm not going to sell any of them! Thanks for posting Ryan - now subscribed!
I had my '65 Acro for sale about a month ago. Glad it never sold - it's an amazing sounding drum.
The low running Acro sounds amazing too
Supraphonic is funky!
Well done 👍🏼
Awesome comparison....that's how it's done. Loved the LM400. Thank you!
I've had 2 out of the 3, except for the BB.. I still think Supra for me, hands down.. However, the BB, with a slightly thicker drum head, like a coated CS Black dot, would clean it up nicely in terms of sustain and overtones, while still allowing the drum to breathe naturally.
Nice video! I liked all 3 at each tuning. I own an acrolite, and don't see any reason to buy either of the other 2, unless my drumming career takes off...
Also worth noting this guy is a great player!
Thanks Ben!
That black beauty in medium tuning is heavenly... Other than that, the LM400 stands out.
I seriously need all three
Black Beauty 8x14, Supra 6.5x14, Acro 5x14. I have a 14x7 and 14x5.5 maple Signias from Premier for wood. In my opinion it’s the perfect collection.
LM 400 win on every tuning.
i just scored a 1980 chrome supraphonic in mint condition for $60
I feel like I have this weird thing where the low tuning i go acrolite, supraphonic, black beauty… medium I go supraphonic, black beauty, acrolite… and then on high I go black beauty, acrolite, supraphonic
you just can't make a better sounding snare drum than the supra. they figured it out and anything else is bullshit.
@@mfb5642 Among the best snares ever, that's sure, togheter with few other...
Absolutely❤
Acrolite rules. Very identical sound between these drums though. Thanks for great vid.
Great comparison. Great video. I have the DW version of the black beauty that sounds nearly identical to this. I think though if I was going with the aluminum shells I'd pick the LM402 over the LM400.
What a video!
I'm partial to the Acrolite. I've still got the one I bought with my first drum set. I like the slight trashiness and the ring.
I love all the drums but to me the difference in lugs makes the biggest impact. I have an 8 lug Black Beauty (6.5 x 14) and it's WIDE open. It is a completely different drum from its 10 lug brother/sister. And is very different from my 10 lug LM 402. I am not a fan of lower tunings so that didn't mean anything to me personally. But the medium to higher tunings are where the drums really start to separate themselves and reveal their own true nature. My "go to" range would be similar in sound to say..Ian Paice from the early 1970's. Clean , cutting and crisp with a great deal of sustain. I also use very wide snares as well. That also makes a huge difference.
While the Acro is a great sounding drum, to me, any of it's sounds can be found on the Supra or the BB. In this case however the 8 lugs of the Acro allowed it to open up more and was very comparable to the LM400.
Sizes of the shell also matter a great deal to me. I don't care much for the Black Beauty in the 5 x 14 size. It's a bit..hollow for me and I don't use any muffling on my snares when I play. The deeper shell however, coupled with the 8 lugs and a higher tuning range are where that drum really explodes into all it's full glory.
The LM400 is my favorite 5" deep snare drum.
However...full disclosure..I have been using my Pearl Ian Paice signature snare for many years now and if I was paid anything for each time someone came to me and said.."Hey, that Ludwig snare sounds amazing!" I would be rich. (not surprising to me that Ian's snare has very similar tonal and playing qualities of the 400/402 line. After all...he was a Ludwig guy first...and his signature snare was his way of getting that sound but with the Pearl logo on it.
This was a very good test and was very informative.
They all sounded exactly the same to me !
All great sounding and playing drums...
But overall,..the black beauty does it for me 😁👍
Considering the prizes the Supraphonic wins hands down. And it sounds just perfect. A comparison in 6,5" would be something else. A BB is hard to beat even if the LM402 provides "the Bonham-Sound", the LB417 has that certain something everybody seems to be looking for in a snare sound. The Acro is imo unbeatable in Reaggae. In the end, they're all iconic metal drums...the COB and supersensitive are also iconic, thinking of Hal Blane and Carol Carpenter.
Seems apparent that the winner is in the ears of the beholder. It’s all subjective really. But, many good points were made by many here. It’s all good!
Great job. Was surprised how similar they sounded when compared properly!! BB started to edge forward for me as the tuning got higher. Surprised that acrolite had the most resonance/overtones (was the least dry) when undampened but then dried up the most with the wallet.
TOP VIDEO TOP DRUMMER TOP SOUND TOP SNARE DRUMS !!!
I've had similar thoughts about the amount of lug touching the shell. Would love to see a comparison of 2 Supras, one with tube lugs an done with Imperial.
cool vid! Less difference than I might have thought, across the bunch. Low tuning, the head ring was dominant and they sounded super similar. Differences did come out more at med and hi tunings. The Acro seemed the most open, but the brass had a definite different shell tone, seemed like more of a "punch".
Acrolite medium and high tuning with wallet sound the best for me!
All three performed well. Worth owning all 3 if you record a lot. I find the Supraphonic and Acrolite the most neutral and versatile. I own a Supraphonic and a Jazz Fest.
Sounds delicious
I would take the acrolite at the low tuning, the supra at the medium tuning and the black beauty at the high tuning. There was not a ton of difference between the three I found. Forget that goofy wallet thing. If you’re on a budget I would probably go with the acrolite. All around, likely the supra. Thanks for doing the video and totally agree with your findings and assessment.
The LM400 is way more focused in all the tunings and didn't need to be ruined with the wallet it sounds perfect WFO
Supraphonic
Acrolite
Black Beauty
Great Video & Audio with clear comparison of each drums' character. It inspired me to re-tune/fine tune my late 90's BB 14x5. It's now sounding both fat & crisp. Ludwig metal snares have that classic tone for sure. Would like a supra too but how many snares is enough?
Thanks for your inspiring work. Well Done!
Nice job. Well communicated. Subscribed.
Thanks John!
Great comparison. I think the Supra and BB sound best. The BB is definitely a bit darker/warmer than the others. I can't hear a big difference between the Acro and the Supra in some of the tunings.
The acrolite sounds best medium. the supraphonic sounds best high, and the black beauty sounds the best
how can you tell when every stroke is a rim shot here at the beginning ?
@@TheIridium6 cause I have ears?
@@CommanderNewton Yes you have ears , the question is are they any good
acrolite sounds like it would work for a pop punk band. Supra for rock, funk, etc.. Black Beauty for metal.
Black Beauty. They all sound fantastic but the Black Beauty has a perfect crack and thickness to it.
Be interested to know how you achieved the high tuning on the supra - any guidance re batter and reso tension would be very helpful. I'm finding I can get a good tuning with the weather master head but not with ambassador. I know it's a thicker head but would love to get mine sounding like your high tuning example here. Thanks in advance!
great vid, all spind great!,, do you have any comparison of the super10 or COB dynasonic to the COB 10 lug ludwigs or do you know where i can fimd such a comparison since i habe cob dyna and chrome plated aluminum supra (60’s keystone badge) and wondering whether it is worth it to go for a cob 10 lug ludwig - i played one at maxwell’s of NYC and it sounded really great! it was much heavier than my supra and also seemed heVier than my cob dyna
Honesty they all sound great.
Dante Phoenix we think so too!
That lm400 supraphonic is awesome. still $500 used!
You can put the Surpalite with them too they sound great!